Shillong, Sept 8: Former United Democratic Party (UDP) youth leader, Hamlet Dohling on Friday joined the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) and be its candidates from Mylliem constituency in the 2018 Assembly election.
With Dohling joining the PDF, the UDP Mylliem Circle was dissolved as office bearers and supporters have decided to back him.
Dohling along with his supporters were welcomed to the PDF at a meeting held at Umlyngka Community Hall in the president of PDF president, Ivanlumlang Marbaniang, former KHADC chief, Hispreaching Son Shylla and MDC James Ban Basaiawmoit.
Dohling, the former general secretary of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) will be contesting against sitting Congress legislator and cabinet minister Ronnie V Lyngdoh and sitting HSPDP MDC, Teilinia Thangkhiew from Mylliem constituency.

Dohling had protested against the seat-sharing agreement between the UDP and HSPDP, in which Mylliem constituency was allotted to the HSPDP, and the UDP has to support Teilinia Thangkhiew, who is the candidate of the HSPDP.

The UDP and HSPDP have forged a pre-poll alliance for contesting the upcoming elections from 36 assembly seats in Khasi-Jaintia region.

However, Dohling, who was confident of winning from Mylliem on PDF ticket, said that the leaders and supporters from Mylliem were kept in the dark about the decision of the UDP to have a pre-poll alliance with the HSPDP.

He said that they have also opposed the decision of the UDP-HSPDP alliance to reserve the Mylliem seat for the HSPDP.

“Now, UDP leaders and supporters from Mylliem have merged with the PDF, and they are committed to work hard and ensure victory,” he said.

Dohling who had unsuccessfully contested the 2013 Assembly elections, said that within a span of eight months (2012 to 2013), he had garnered over 6067 votes.

“Similarly in the last MDC elections (2014), the votes polled rose to over 7, 000,” he said, adding that he has every reason to be optimistic that the people would support him in the upcoming elections.

He also alleged that both the sitting MLA and MDC of the constituency have failed miserably to deliver.

“Both are instrumental in bringing hardships to the people of the area by allowing the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority to encroach,” he said.

“The sitting MLA (Ronnie V Lyngdoh) has also failed to distribute the MLA schemes for the year 2013 to 2016 to the tune of Rs 7 crore. The move is to release the schemes this year just to fool the people before elections,” Dohling alleged.

He however said that the people of Mylliem constituency were wise and enlightened enough, and they would surely teach such leader a lesson in the elections.